We picked up 2 more legs today at the trial and it wasn’t nearly as cold, so it was a very good day.
First class was T2B and darn if Chudleigh didn’t pop out of the weaves around the 9th pole. I was moving away from him instead of straight ahead so he needs more practice on that. If I had put him back in the poles he would have been way over time so there was no way to save the Q.
Rollo ran the same course and had no problems in the weaves. He actually qualified and picked up 8 points with a very nice run.
Next class was open standard. Chudleigh incurred one refusal when I ran past him while he was in a tunnel and when he came out he was confused and ended up in the wrong position to take the next jump. I got him heading in the right direction and we managed to complete the course with no further mishaps. He was 5 seconds under course time and his 95 still got him a first place.
I had great hopes for Rollo in that class but the agility gods refused to smile on us. Rollo the huge worrier about tunnel monsters actually dashed into the wrong end of a tunnel that we were just running by on the way to a jump. Despite it being a fault I was beyond happy because that meant tunnel monsters were no longer a worry to him. Unfortunately he incurred another refusal when he got on the wrong side of me heading for a jump and to make things even worse he dashed right through the weaves between pole 1 &2 coming out the back side! Talk about a Whack A Mole moment, yesterday his weaves were spot on and to die for. He did nail them on the second try, but in of course in open you only get one screw up and weaves do count.
I had high hopes for the final class, open jumpers but alas the agility gods were giving us the Bronx cheer instead of smiles. Chudleigh evidently left his brain back in the crate in the van, he was beyond AWFUL! Charlie was standing ringside holding Rollo for me as Rollo was just 6 dogs after Chuds. Unfortunately Chudleigh figured correctly that Charlie had the holy grail of super yummy treats that you only get after you come out of the agility ring. Chuds was stopping every few jumps to gaze longingly at Charlie, then would take a long loop away from me and head for the wrong jump. I managed to redirect him every time and all that foolishness only incurred one refusal, but the time penalties ate us alive.
Final run of the day was up to little Rollo, and his run was stupendous. His cheering section was lavish with their praise for his wonderful run. He tried so hard but in his enthusiasm he ended up on the wrong side of me and had to be redirected to be able to clear the jump he needed to take. He finished the course beautifully but the 5 point refusal and the 6 seconds over course time killed us. In open those 2 points per seconds add up really fast. I was tired and hadn’t quite caught my breath after running Chudleigh and honestly we had just done the 2 runs in the standard ring barely a few minutes earlier. I think I need to stash some oxygen for just such occurrences, dratted congestive heart failure trying to spoil a good time.
Next weekend we will compete again both days in the same place.
I got digital copies of 2 of Rollo's runs this weekend, the T2B and the 1st open standard leg. Here are the links
1 comment:
The little fellow sure looks happy!
I find it amazing how technology has progressed when I look at the videos from trials now days!
Sydney
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